Mobile handsets maker, Nokia is partnering with Kenya Bureau of standards and ACA (Anti-Counterfeit Agency to tackle the high number of counterfeits in the country.
Kenneth Oyolla, Nokia General Manager for East and Southern Africa said rigorous enforcement of anti-counterfeit laws and continuous training of law enforcers could help save Kenya billion of shillings annually and help consumers get value for their money in future.
Last December, Nokia conducted training for 25 officials from the Weights & Measures Department, the Kenya Bureau of Standards and the Anti-Counterfeit Agency as a part of the company’s ongoing anti-counterfeit campaign.
Nokia is bringing into the market affordable mobile devices and accessories to help phone earn value for their money and offer superior user experience at different price-points. The new Nokia X2-01, priced at between Shs 8000 -8500 is aimed for youthful, flamboyant style-leaders, most of whom are typically targeted by counterfeiters in Kenya and emerging markets.
Counterfeiting is the illegal use of intellectual property rights including trademarks, patents, designs and copyrights. Globally, the spread of counterfeit products has increased in recent years due to the transfer of technology, ease of trade and export transactions through the internet, in addition to the recent economic crises.
The Nokia X2-01 is a stylish, QWERTY-keyboard phone that will enable users to keep friends and favourite music close across their Internet Messaging services, get real-time emails, and type messages easily. It also allows users to follow conversations easily with threaded SMS chats. The Nokia X2-01 has 55MB internal memory able to support up to 8GB on a micro-SD memory card, VGA camera, FM stereo radio + RDS, media player among other features. It is the real bargain from Nokia.
The Anti-counterfeit Agency Executive Director Mr. Stephen Mallowah said although counterfeits are a global problem costing economies billions of dollars local and concerted efforts are yielding fruit.
Said Mr. Mallowah: “The passing, by Parliament, of the Anti-Counterfeit Bill in 2009 was a big and positive step forward in the fight against counterfeits and it has paved the way for tighter controls and potential economic savings for Kenya economy. We estimate that Kenya is be losing over Shs 40 billion per year currently but things are changing radically as we roll out campaigns such as this one. We are requesting brand owners, organizations and consumers to continue working with by offering any relevant information that can help us fight this vice.”
